HURLEY v West 12 Date: 25th June

Played at Hurley

Innings of Hurley

P Hinnell b. J Pooley 25 M Walton b. J Pooley 25 Y Gul c. & b. S Murphy 1 P McDermott b. J Pooley 1 J Calliss Not out 17 J Dawson c. L Pooley b. Z Pooley 10 J Furneaux Run out 44 J Graham Not out 22 H Graham ) J Langlands )- dnb D Walton ) Extras 56 Total 201 For 6

Bowling

Overs Maidens Runs Wkts. S Murphy 8 0 34 1 O’Neil 7 1 38 0 J Pooley 6 0 12 3 Z Pooley 3 0 31 1 P Murphy 2 0 20 0 L Pooley 1 0 11 0 W Downes 1 0 7 0 C Norris 2 0 29 0 Innings of West 12

T Murphy b. Langlands 0 W Downes b. Langlands 7 S Murphy b. Langlands 1 Pooley c. J Graham b. D Walton 37 L Pooley st. M Walton b. D Walton 8 J Pooley Not out 119 D Pooley c. M Walton b. P McDermott 1 Z Pooley Not out 10 O Neil Run out 0 C Norris b. Furneaux 0

Extras 22 Total 205 For 7

Bowling

Overs Maidens Runs Wkts. J Langlands 5 1 23 3 D Walton 6 1 31 2 J Graham 3 0 24 0 H Graham 4 0 29 0 P McDermott 3 1 7 1 J Furneaux 4 0 28 1 J Dawson 3 0 26 0 Y Gul 1 0 13 0 J Calliss 1 0 18 0

Result: West 12 won by 1 .

After a gap of a few years, Hurley welcomed West 12, led by Wally Downes, back to Shepherds Lane. A thrilling encounter saw the visitors prevail with one to spare.

The visitors won the toss and asked Hurley to bat first. Openers Pat Hinnell and Mike Walton got the innings off to a flying start with 31 runs coming off the first four overs, helped by a plethora of extras. Sean Murphy and O’Neill managed to peg back the scoring rate and the score had reached 53 in the eleventh over when former Middlesex player Jeff Pooley bowled Hinnell (25). Yasir Gul could only manage a single before getting a leading edge which Murphy clung on to in his follow through. Pooley also accounted for Walton (25) and Paul McDermott (5) to reduce the hosts to 73 for 4 in the seventeenth over. Ten year old Zac Pooley picked up the wicket of Jeff Dawson (10) but James Calliss (17*) John Furneaux (44) and Joe Graham (22*) ensured Hurley posted a competitive 201 for 6 from their 30 overs.

The West 12 reply got off to the worst possible start, with Tony Murphy bowled off his pads by Jonathan Langlands’ first ball. Four balls later, Sean Murphy dragged a wide one onto his stumps. The loss of skipper Downes (7) in the fifth over saw the visitors struggling at 22 for 3. Dave Walton added to the pressure on the visitors with the of two more of the Pooley clan and when McDermott had the fourth Pooley caught down the leg side by Mike Walton the game looked up for West 12 at 77 for 6. Jeff Pooley and 10 year old Zac (10*) had other ideas, never giving up as Hurley rotated their bowlers. With an unlikely 95 needed from the last 10 overs, the ex Middlesex pro showed his class with a powerful 119*. Forty-one were still needed from the last three overs, three sixes over the club house from the twenty-eighth over, bowled by Henry Graham, gave the visitors hope. The last over saw West 12 still needing fourteen for victory. A no ball from Furneaux was despatched for a maximum by Pooley, and another pull over the pavilion off the next delivery levelled the scores. The two Pooleys retired to allow the last two batsmen to get to the middle. A suicidal single led to the run out of O’Neil and Chuck Norris was bowled off the next delivery by Furneaux. The Pooley’s were allowed to resume their innings and Jeff Pooley struck a boundary down the ground off the penultimate ball to bring up the victory and cue a night of celebration for the West 12 players and supporters. This may not have been a game for the purists, but the emphasis was on enjoyment for all and the Hurley players learned a valuable lesson.